Singles 'using Twitter to woo new partners'

It's official: the days of traditional romance are over - and technology now plays an integral role in the way people meet and communicate.

Gone is the idea of sending your beloved a love letter, with more direct methods such as texting, email and even social media messages becoming increasingly popular.

In fact, it seems singles are even taking to Twitter to share their feelings of adoration for that special someone. Who said you couldn't explain how much you love your partner with just 140 characters?

According to new research, the micro-blogging website is now the most common way of winning over a potential new partner, overtaking texting and phone calls as the most popular method of communication.

Researchers from electronics retailer PIXmania found that it now takes 224 tweets, 70 Facebook messages, 163 text messages, 37 emails and 30 phone calls before two people can officially call themselves an item in the modern era.

And it seems falling in love faster than ever before is one of the consequences of all the tweeting, texting and emailing - with the timeframe more than halving within the space of a single generation.

Individuals under the age of 25 now take just under one month to refer to each other as boyfriend and girlfriend, while those aged 55 and over revealed the courting process took more than two-and-a-half months.

Changing attitudes towards romance spurred researchers to believe this could mark the end of the traditional three-day rule, where singles would wait for 72 hours before calling their date back.

Nowadays, researchers found, it is actually closer to three hours!

Ghadi Hobeika, marketing director of PIXmania.com, said: "With the nation obsessed with constantly communicating with one another, modern technology is putting the speed into speed dating and encouraging more contact between budding lovers.

"The days of penning a simple love letter to woo your new beau are over. From flirting on Facebook to teasing on Twitter, modern day lovers are increasingly embracing technology to help snare their catch."